Collections

This collection relates to Albert and Grace Swank. This collection contains photographs of Miami celebrity mansions and postcards of Miami Beach, aerial photographs of Miami, Lincoln Road, the Flamingo Hotel, and Ocean Drive. These materials were collected during their honeymoon in Miami, Florida.

The Bea Brickell Collection highlights the Brickell family as well as releatives from her maternal grandparents side of the family like the Bain's and Kellum's. The legal documents in this collection features the selling of land to several entities including the City of Miami. This collection also incldues newspaper clippings about properties owned by Brickell like Brickell Park and Brickell Point. Lastly, this collection contains real weights and scales owned by Mary Brickell herself.

This collection pertains to Thomas A. Butler, who served as a First Lieutenant in the 468th Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) Battalion during World War II. Butler served in France and Germany from 1944-1945, receiving five battle stars and a bronze star medal. In the immediate months following the war, he was stationed at the Berchtesgaden Hof Hotel, which was adjacent to Hitler's retreat at Obersalzberg, where he operated the Hotel as a retreat for Army officers. Butler maintained a detailed Service Record Book that includes his personal information, transfers, the locations he was deployed, the people he met, and military letters he received during and after the war. In aggregate, Butler's collection includes: A U.S Military Service Record Book, including a personalized autographed photograph of General of the Air Force Henry (Hap) Arnold, one Berchtesgaden photo album created by Butler himself, Butler's awarded and framed Bronze Star, and two artifacts retrieved from Germany: one Nazi Party armband and one stationary folder.

The collection consists of materials depicting the role of Mary Brickell as one of the "founding mothers" of the city of Miami, Florida. Documents detail her work as a landowner and real estate developer. The materials balance the personal and professional lives of Mary Brickell and her descendants. The collection demonstrates the growth and shaping of Miami, from the founding documents establishing the city of Miami to modern day developments in the Brickell area. The collection also documents the work of local Miami historian Carmen Petsoules and her efforts to revive public awareness of Mary Brickell and have her officially recognized as one of the founders of the city of Miami. The collection includes appraisal reports, architectural plans, bills, estate records, leases, maps, newspaper clippings, personal papers, photographs, property records, research materials, scrapbooks, silverware, tax records, warranty deeds, and wills.

This collection consists of an oral history interview transcript of a retired African American lieutenant colonel, and one of the Tuskegee Airmen, as he discusses his experiences during WWII and the Korean War.

Personal items of Florida State College for Women student Florence Gregory (B.A. Sociology, 1940) and Florida State University (M.S., Social Work, 1962). Items includes photographs, scrapbooks, and other ephemera related to her years as a student at FSCW/FSU.

The materials included in this collection appear to be class papers done by students at the Florida State College for Women around 1922. Among the counties covered are Alachua, Clermont Lake, Manatee, Sarasota, Sumter, Suwanee, Taylor, Walton, Jefferson, Lake, Osceola, Washington, Columbia, and Dade Counties. Among the cities covered are Miami, Jacksonville, Pensacola, Madison, Orlando, Wildwood, Live Oak, De Funiak Springs, Monticello, and West Palm Beach.

This collection consists of several papers donated by Geraldine Brooke Greene. Geraldine became a "wandering wife" during the war, following her husband Staff Sergeant Julian John "Jack" Brooke until he was sent to Europe. Jack was eventually killed in action. Geraldine later remarried.

The Giles Photograph Collection contains 6 photographic postcards. Five are panoramic postcards that depict the destruction of Miami in the wake of the 1926 hurricane. The sixth postcard is a picture of the Hollywood Marimba band circa 1925-1926.